nization’s anti-corruption standards. They have a seat in Strasbourg and are assisted by a Secretariat provided by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. Furthermore, GRECO has been granted an observer status to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations – represented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).[1]Transparency International has also recognized GRECO as a working anti-corruption mmonitoring mechanism after promoting an European Union-wide anti-corruption package adopted in 2011. [2] Additionally, GRECO can be seen as part of international an professional networks which are described as sources of knowledge transfer across various institutions. In addition to GRECO, the networks inlcude the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA), the European Partners Against Corruption (EPAC), and the Anti-Corruption Agencies Network (ANCORAGE-NET) among others.[3]
The objective of GRECO is to improve the ability of its members to fight corruption by monitoring their compliance with Council of Europe anti-corruption standards through mutual evaluation and peer pressure. The members of GRECO are not limited to Council of Europe member States, but do include states which are members of the Criminal or Civil Law Conventions on Corruption, for example. Currently, GRECO has 49 members of which 48 are European states in addition to the United States of America.[4]
The Council of Europe has two major anti-corruption instruments: the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption and the Civil Law Convention on Corruption. They both have their own function but the common factor here is GRECO since both Conventions share GRECO as their monitoring system.[5] The Council of Europe’s approach to the fight against corruption is multidisciplinary and consists of three interrelated elements: (1) the setting of European norms and standards, (2) monitoring of compliance with the standards and capacity building offered to individual countries and regions, which is done (3) through technical co-operation programmes.[6]
===Milestones[7]
The following milestones in the development of the Council of Europe’s work against corruption show the evolution, first, from recognizing the problem to, finally, establishing an effective monitoring body.
1994: Ministers of Justice of Council of Europe member States agreed that corruption should be addressed at European level
1995: Multidisciplinary Group on Corruption was established to prepare a comprehensive programme of action against corruption
1996: the Committee of Ministers adopted the Programme of Action against Corruption
1997: the Ministers of Justice of Council of Europe recommended that anti-corruption efforts be intensified through standard setting and monitoring
1997: the Heads of State and Government of the member States of the Council of Europe decided that common responses to the growth in corruption should be sought and introduced a solution in the form of twenty guiding principles
1999: GRECO was established by 17 founding members of which Finland was one –whereas the rest were: Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden
GRECO in practice
GRECO monitors its members on an equal basis through a dynamic process of mutual evaluation and peer pressure. The monitoring includes two parts:
(1)“Horizontal” evaluation procedure, which leads to recommendations on improvements.The procedure consists of a team of experts, appointed by GRECO, to evaluate a particular member. The analysis is carried out on the basis of written replies to a questionnaire and information gathered in meetings with public officials and representatives of civil society. The conclusion may lead to recommendations (require action within 18 months) or to observations (do not require action but should be taken into account
A compliance procedure designed to assess the measures taken by its members to implement the recommendations.The procedure may find out that the recommendations have been implemented satisfactorily, partly or has not been implemented. The assessment is based on a situation report and supporting documents.[8]
GRECO monitoring happens in cycles, which are called evaluation rounds, and each of them cover a specific theme. The first evaluation round dealt with the independence, specialization and means of national bodies engaged in the prevention and fight against corruption. The second evaluation round focused on the identification, seizure and confiscation of corruption proceeds, and the prevention and detection of corruption in public administration –among others. The third evaluation round addresses the incriminations provided for in the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption and the transparency of party funding.[9] The fourth evaluation round, which was launched recently, focused on the prevention of corruption in respect of members of parliament, judges and prosecutors. [10]
Finnish context
The link to GRECO in Finland is the Ministry of Justice (Oikeusministeriö). They have been publishing press releases regarding the development of the various evaluation rounds in Finland, and what the purpose of the rounds have been. By today, Finland has undergone all four evaluations rounds: the first round was conducted in 2000, the second in 2003, the third in 2007, and the fourth in 2012. The last round focused specifically on the prevention of corruption of prosecutors, judges, and members of the parliament, and in order to perform their evaluations, GRECO representatives met with people from the Ministry of Justice, the Prosecutor's Office, and the Parliament.[11]
As a result of the fourth evaluation round that Finland went through in 2012, an evaluation report was produced in 2013 by GRECO. They reported that Finland is regarded as one of the least corrupt countries in Europe, and that in general, Finland has implemented well the anti-corruption measures suggested by GRECO. However, suggestions for improvement were also mentioned. Specifically, the conflict of interest should not be underestimated and it was recommended to create Codes of Conduct for parliamentarians, as well as to disseminate the Ethical Principles for Judges. To assess the extent to which Finland has implemented the suggested improvements, GRECO will provide a further "compliance report" in 2015.[12]
Overview
GRECO (French: Groupe d'Etats contre la corruption) was established in 1999 to monitor states’ compliance with the orga
Table of Contents
The objective of GRECO is to improve the ability of its members to fight corruption by monitoring their compliance with Council of Europe anti-corruption standards through mutual evaluation and peer pressure. The members of GRECO are not limited to Council of Europe member States, but do include states which are members of the Criminal or Civil Law Conventions on Corruption, for example. Currently, GRECO has 49 members of which 48 are European states in addition to the United States of America.[4]
The Council of Europe has two major anti-corruption instruments: the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption and the Civil Law Convention on Corruption. They both have their own function but the common factor here is GRECO since both Conventions share GRECO as their monitoring system.[5] The Council of Europe’s approach to the fight against corruption is multidisciplinary and consists of three interrelated elements: (1) the setting of European norms and standards, (2) monitoring of compliance with the standards and capacity building offered to individual countries and regions, which is done (3) through technical co-operation programmes.[6]
===Milestones [7]
The following milestones in the development of the Council of Europe’s work against corruption show the evolution, first, from recognizing the problem to, finally, establishing an effective monitoring body.
1994: Ministers of Justice of Council of Europe member States agreed that corruption should be addressed at European level
1995: Multidisciplinary Group on Corruption was established to prepare a comprehensive programme of action against corruption
1996: the Committee of Ministers adopted the Programme of Action against Corruption
1997: the Ministers of Justice of Council of Europe recommended that anti-corruption efforts be intensified through standard setting and monitoring
1997: the Heads of State and Government of the member States of the Council of Europe decided that common responses to the growth in corruption should be sought and introduced a solution in the form of twenty guiding principles
1999: GRECO was established by 17 founding members of which Finland was one –whereas the rest were: Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden
GRECO in practice
GRECO monitors its members on an equal basis through a dynamic process of mutual evaluation and peer pressure. The monitoring includes two parts:GRECO monitoring happens in cycles, which are called evaluation rounds, and each of them cover a specific theme. The first evaluation round dealt with the independence, specialization and means of national bodies engaged in the prevention and fight against corruption. The second evaluation round focused on the identification, seizure and confiscation of corruption proceeds, and the prevention and detection of corruption in public administration –among others. The third evaluation round addresses the incriminations provided for in the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption and the transparency of party funding.[9] The fourth evaluation round, which was launched recently, focused on the prevention of corruption in respect of members of parliament, judges and prosecutors. [10]
Finnish context
The link to GRECO in Finland is the Ministry of Justice (Oikeusministeriö). They have been publishing press releases regarding the development of the various evaluation rounds in Finland, and what the purpose of the rounds have been. By today, Finland has undergone all four evaluations rounds: the first round was conducted in 2000, the second in 2003, the third in 2007, and the fourth in 2012. The last round focused specifically on the prevention of corruption of prosecutors, judges, and members of the parliament, and in order to perform their evaluations, GRECO representatives met with people from the Ministry of Justice, the Prosecutor's Office, and the Parliament.[11]As a result of the fourth evaluation round that Finland went through in 2012, an evaluation report was produced in 2013 by GRECO. They reported that Finland is regarded as one of the least corrupt countries in Europe, and that in general, Finland has implemented well the anti-corruption measures suggested by GRECO. However, suggestions for improvement were also mentioned. Specifically, the conflict of interest should not be underestimated and it was recommended to create Codes of Conduct for parliamentarians, as well as to disseminate the Ethical Principles for Judges. To assess the extent to which Finland has implemented the suggested improvements, GRECO will provide a further "compliance report" in 2015.[12]
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Council of Europe (2014) Historical Background [WWW] Available from: http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/greco/general/2.%20Historical%20Background_en.asp [Accessed 4/10/14].